New faces will join Ashby selectmen

ASHBY -- The Board of Selectmen may see a complete changing of the guard this election season -- two of the three current members will not appear on the ballot for the upcoming election.

John Hourihan of 99 Deer Bay Road and Steve Ingerson of 1315 Main St. both pulled papers to run for Peter McMurray's seat and appear on the ballot.

Selectman Dan Meunier, who had one year left on his term, announced earlier this month he was resigning because he and his family were moving out of town.

Meunier was hoping he had resigned in time for Town Clerk Lorraine Pease to place his position on the election ballot, but he said Thursday afternoon it appears his resignation came just days after the deadline, so a special election will have to be held.

McMurray, the chair of the board, did not pull papers to run for re-election for his seat. McMurray can still win his seat if he receives votes through a write-in campaign.

The two open seats may steer the board in a different direction, Meunier said.

"Mike has a lot of experience on the board, and Jennifer (Collins) has a lot of experience working with the board getting everything ready for our meetings, so it's not like things are going to be a mess," he said.

Meunier said McMurray could still pull papers to run for the remainder of Meunier's term, but it's unclear when a special election will be called to fill it.

"If it's time for a changing of the guard, then so be it.

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Things change in people's lives, and sometimes people have to move on," he said, while noting there are still major issues facing the town.

"A police station is the major issue right now for us and getting officers out of that building," he said. "Then we're going to be expecting to have our portion of the cost for the new septic system at Hawthorne Brook Middle School as well as the high school's feasibility study."

He doesn't expect anything will fall through the cracks, however.

"We have a great group of people working in Town Hall who came together when we didn't have a town administrator. I'm definitely not concerned about the work they do," he said. "The town will get by. We're all replaceable. Nobody is perfect. As long as people care about the town and don't have their own agenda they're trying to promote, they'll be fine."

Resident Lillian Whitney contemplated running for the position but said she was just reappointed to the Finance Committee and believes her talents will be best used there. She has been a vocal critic of the current board and has called for more transparency.

"The things that are happening here and going on behind closed doors are just nasty, so I'm glad to see different people stepping up," he said. "I think it's time for a change. I've had a few nasty cracks made at me by people and I figured that would work against me. It's about time someone else stepped up to the plate."

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